Playing "Mom"

While most of my high school and college friends are getting married and starting families, I can say I'm no where near that point in my life. Don't take offense married friends, but I can't get excited about buying dishes just yet. (Yes, that is my idea of a marriage... buying useful gifts and not fun ones.) 

Living away means I miss out on lots of fun things back home during the year... friend's weddings and babies mainly... but I wouldn't trade the rest of my year for anything. Just recently I was able to finally meet my friend Whitney's baby. I was happy to hold cute, little McKenna but when the food came... McKenna went back to mom. I also told McKenna that chewing on my fingers wasn't a good idea nor crying... as both of those would lead her right back to her momma! 

With that being said, I played mom this summer for three weeks. Don't get nervous, it wasn't for a baby!!  I brought home a12 yr old Spanish boy who wanted to come to the USA to practice his English and explore the American culture and way of life. 

Let's just say my "trial mom run" was enough for awhile.  

And It Began

At the end of my trip around Spain with Zach, we met Rodrigo and his family in Madrid.  Just as we were approaching security, I told Rodrigo to take off watches, jewelry, belts, anything that would set off the machines. I didn't want to draw anymore attention to us than necessary. (I wasn't really sure if the paperwork I had would all work for me to bring a minor back to the States, so I was trying to lay low.) Well, Rodrigo took everything off but something still set off the scanners. The guards immediately looked at Zach and asked if he was the father... well, Zach threw his arms up and said "no!"... then, they looked around asking for his parent. Well, I thought, "I'm his guardian..." so I said "YO" (ME!) and got some strange looks from the guards (probably thinking I would have to be a superrrr young mom) and then they asked if they could search him. Well, he's not my kid, so I just said "sure!" I would probably think twice if he were really my son and look at the guards closer and really watch as they searched him. Anyway, that was adventure one. I'm happy to say, we made it through. 

When we finally made it to the plane, Zach was a few rows behind us in a window seat. We were in the middle. Of course.  I took the aisle, which was probably a mistake as Rodrigo went to the bathroom about 7 times. But, I wasn't giving up my leg room! He immediately told me "I can't sleep on planes" and I thought "only 9.5 hours to go." We played tic-tac-toe and connect the dots... I feel asleep. He woke me up and we played some more. The last half hour Zach kindly gave up his seat to let Rodrigo have a window seat and a good view of Miami, our first stop.  

In Miami, I told Zach to go ahead of us in passport control, as the paperwork I had only had me as a guardian and I didn't need anything to mess it up. Well, when Rodrigo and I made our way to the desk, we handed over our passports and began answering all the guard's questions. "Are you related?" "Who is she?" "Do you speak English? "How old are you?" "Is she a good teacher?" (To which I nudged Rodrigo to say yes and he did!) And yeah, I thought we were in the clear. But, I thought too soon. I gave him all the paperwork that Rodrigo's family had sent with me and he looked it over, no problems. Then, he gave me my passport back, kept Rodrigo's and told us to go wait by the side, that we had to answer more questions. Alright, that's when I got nervous. Really nervous, as they led us behind a door that was being watched by a fully gunned guard. Behind the door? People who looked illegal/had probably committed a crime. And us. 

Miami from el cielo! :)

How do you tell a 12yr old the guards think you're kidnapping him? I said "Since I'm not your mom, they think I'm stealing you and forcing you to be here. Just relax, we will have to answer a few more questions and then we can go. Let's just watch TV until they call us." Well, about 45minutes later, they called our names and asked us a few more questions like what address we were going to be staying at, and we were good to go. I guess I overreacted, but I was stressing out because it was super legal what I was doing. We took extra precautions to make sure it was just right. I'm so glad they let us out of that room. 

After another connecting flight to Chicago and finally St. Louis, we were almost home after 23 hours of flights/traveling. My family picked us up and we were headed home to Jefferson City. Finally. It had been a long day, and this "mom" was just happy to see her mom and be home. 

Our first few days were relaxing, as we toured all of Jefferson City's most important sites. It is the capital city of Missouri, after all, so we had to make a visit to the capitol building! We had some nice treats afterward, too, with my grandparents at Central Dairy! Over the first weekend, Rodrigo played baseball and went down a slide on a boogie board. My parents were "babysitting" for me and just about freaking out. Later in the day, I don't think he liked riding in my dad's jeep with the top off... but that is another story. 

Yummy Central Dairy, Jefferson City's finest helado.

Rodrigo headed off to camp for 10 days in Springfield, so I guess you could call me the "mom who shipped her kid off to boarding school." One of my friends in college told me that I would be "that mom" and I guess it proved true... this time. I had only agreed to bring a student home with me if he could go somewhere to be with other kids his age. When I'm home, I do nothing... I watch tv, relax, and just enjoy being home in my house. I didn't want to bore anyone with my "American lifestyle" for several weeks, so camp seemed like just the thing to help boost his English skills! 

Goodbye circle, the last event at camp.

While Rodrigo was away at camp, my dad asked me if I was bi-polar... as I didn't leave my pajamas for two days. He said, "In Spain, you're constantly on the go and here, we can't even get you to shower."  While that is a bit out of proportion, I can honestly say I was just happy to be home and not have to do anything or go anywhere. I was able to go to several wedding events for my friend, Lyndsay, have lunch with other friends and even hang out in St. Louis with a friend from Spain, Will. All the attention was back on me, and not having to entertain/babysit for my Spanish amigo. (Sorry, only child syndrome was in full effect.) 

After camp was over, my mom, dad and I headed to Springfield to pick Rodrigo up. He had had a fantastic time at camp and met so many new people. We nearly lost him due to him saying goodbyes, I'm sure he thought "Why don't these crazy Americans leave me alone!" We made stops at Lambert's Home of Thrown Rolls (where they throw bread at you!) and to Bass Pro. (My dad was along, what else would you expect?) 

Catch it anyway you can. Are you ready?

We went swimming at my house and played Nintento 64. (He wasn't used to such an old gaming system...ha) We made a trip to St. Louis to go up in the Arch and to the City Museum, which was awesome. Basically, I realized I'm getting old because all I wanted to do was put knee pads on to climb around on all the contraptions/planes/school busses/tunnels/10 story slides. Seriously, what a great time. "Amazing!"  was Rodrigo's word choice. I agree.

A good photo opp for my bracelet collection, summer 2012 edition.

The Arch is big. We are small.

City Museum... an adult playland high atop St. Louis!

Climbing through things and over things and inside things... I'm glad I didn't wear a dress.

St. Louis City Museum, a must see. Bring your knee-pads.

We basically lived in the car, which was something Rodrigo wasn't used to... however, in Jefferson City, it's difficult to get around without a car. 

Rodrigo: "Where are we going?" 
Me: "To Walmart."
(after Walmart)
Rodrigo: "Where are we going now?"
Me: "To Target. It's across the street, but we are going to drive." 

If you know how Europe works, the people use public transport and their legs much more than they do a car. Cars are used for farther distances outside of the city, but usually not within the city due to parking issues/difficulty to drive through the one way streets/pedestrian streets/narrow streets. Well, Rodrigo saw a whole new world here, where everyone in my family has their own car and my dad has two. 4 cars for 3 people. Insane. 

Rodrigo and my dad got to spend some quality time together, too. Some called him "the son Danny never had." They rode four wheelers, fed the fish in the pond, rode horses and even shot guns. SHOT GUNS. Seriously? So stereotypical of Americans: guns. Well, Rodrigo loved it and it's one of the first things he was telling people he did. Thanks, dad.

Camo and horses for the afternoon.

After exploring Missouri, Rodrigo and I boarded the train to go to Chicago, Illinois. That would be Rodrigo's third state in just a short 2.5 weeks! We were able to meet up with another friend of ours from Spain, Meagan. Meagan taught Rodrigo in Spain as well in 2010-2011. So it was just a perfect outing, Rodrigo and his older sisters. I'm sure he was again thinking "geeze, these girls are annoying me," but we really didn't care. We forced him to take photos and to try Dr. Pepper when we had Chicago-style pizza. He hated Dr. Pepper. He said it was his least favorite thing about America. (oops!) 

Bye St. Louis! Hello 5.5 hour train ride... zzz

Chicago Style: CHEEESEEE!

We went up the Sears/Willis Tower and stepped out on the Skydeck, a glass floor high above the streets of Chicago! We went to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field, which was also a first for me! We had expensive ballpark food for dinner complete with Chicago dogs (no ketchup!), pretzels and nachos. We visited Navy Pier and had good burgers and Rodrigo had his first ever grilled cheese. How about that? I bet you've never thought of "grilled cheese" as a weird food, but he had never had one. He said he was going to tell his mom how to make them! 

Chicago from the Willis/Sears Tower.

I was praying the glass was extra strong...

We were suspended highhhh above Chicago on it's "Skydeck".

At the end of our time together, I have to say I hope Rodrigo learned half as much as I did during his time in the States. It's one thing to go to another country and compare it to your own, and it's another to have a foreigner come visit you and see how they react to yours. I've happily done both and can say they are both eye openers. While it was tiring and exhausting playing "mom", I am so happy I did. My family too, as we all grew from the experience. 

Last night together in STL for dinner, minus my dad who was with our horses.
(Photo credit to my "adopted" brother Will "Soy de Will" McClean.)

Lessons Learned: 

1. Make sure your kid doesn't have any red flags on him during airport security. 
2. Plan activities to keep children occupied on the plane.
3. Give up your aisle seat to let children have full access to the bathroom on airplanes. 
4. If you bring a foreign minor home with you, have your letters notarized.
5. After you are 20, you should wear knee pads at St. Louis City Museum. 
6. Nintendo 64 isn't popular anymore. 
7. When there are no free refills, tell young children to drink slow. Like at a ball game with spicy nachos, you don't want to hear "I'm thirsty" and have buy a second $7 soda. 
8. Not everybody likes Dr. Pepper.
9. Roadkill is not common knowledge. People who live in cities may have never seen a dead raccoon on the street. They will jump and possibly let out a small "ahh!" You just explain it's already dead and hope the shock goes away quickly.
10. Sleeping late when you should wake up early due to differences in time zones is easier for some people. (Like me - not for young children.)
11. Cultural manners are different. Like passing food at the table vs. eating straight from the serving plate. Check before you travel!
12. Americans are always in their cars. Even to cross the street.
13. It's always cold... air-condition is on 24/7. (In the car, in the house, in the store...) I welcome the cold vs. no ac... but it can be quite an adjustment for someone who has never had central air!
14. Americans eat food with their hands. Like chicken and ribs. Rodrigo had a hard time with that! A 12yr old was cutting the meat off the bones... how about that, America!? 
15. Walmart: one stop shop. No having to walk to the shoe store, then to the grocery store, then to the makeup store. 
16. "American houses are big!" -- Rodrigo 

I'm sure I learned many other things, but it's just amazing how much you learn on a daily basis from hosting a student (even if he was away at camp for 10 days of it.) I have to say I worried more than I thought I would. I think I surprised my family, too! I'm glad that we all had this opportunity to host Rodrigo, get to know him and to show him our American lives. 

I also want to thank my family for being such great supporters of my current "job". Thanks to this experience, I now know how much trouble I must have been growing up... involved in everything, running around town with my friends and them having to take me places or be places to watch me do something. But, I also hope they were proud of me, just as I was proud of Rodrigo to get awards at camp and to watch him grow as an individual during his time in America. I'm sure they are, as they are still behind me today! So, thanks mom and dad (and the rest of my family) for your continued support and love. Only one more year in Spain, I promise! :)

...No Place Like Home for the Holidays!

At first, I really wanted to spend Christmas traveling around Spain/Europe - really making the most of my time here. However, a friend explained it to me like this: "Whitney, if you were working in Texas, New York, California, etc, you wouldn't travel around the USA for Christmas - you would go home - to Missouri, to your family, to your roots." So I did just that. 

If you're thinking - "Wait! Whitney wasn't going to come home!" - well, you have been tricked (I like to call it a surprise!) by my cleverness! I surprised my family for Christmas - the best gift I could have given them. And boy, were they surprised! Here is the story.

Probably about 3 weeks into my Spanish teaching adventure, my dad and I devised a plan to surprise my mom for Christmas! He was going to intercept my credit card bill and everything was going to go off without a hitch. WRONG. Dad didn't intercept the bill. How did I find out? I got a skype call one day from my mom saying "Whitney, I think the airline has double booked you for your flight - as the bill shows double what you told me it cost. ... I'm going to call and find out what has happened."  Well, me knowing what I knew, and mom oblivious to what was going on, I ended up having to tell her - as she was basically threatening to cancel my flight home! I simply said "Mom. If you call the airline, you won't be seeing me for Christmas." And, instantly, there were tears of happiness on her part and a little anger that dad didn't get the bill in time on my part. BUT it was a good surprise for mom, just several months early. Time went by, my parents and I started making up lies that I was going to Scotland with my roommate Maria...that flights were too expensive to go home....that all these schools around Navalmoral had invited me to speak about Christmas in America...etc. What a web we weaved. :)

The last few days before I left for America were spent gathering Spanish goodies  to take home for Christmas gifts. Yes, this means I went running all over town to find Black Vodka and a paella pan for my aunt Lisa. I brought home all my dirty clothes and clothes that needed to be shrunk by my mom's expert clothes shrinking talents. We weighed my bag with our neighbor's scale and thought it to be just around the maximum.... Were we ever so wrong. My bag was about 10 kilos overweight so I had to pay (an embarrassing amount) a lot. When the worker asked me what weighed so much in my bag, he laughed when I said "Fanta" - little did he know - i wasn't joking. Everyone knows you have to have Fanta Limon with your Vodka Negro. I don't know why he laughed at me. ;)

Vodka Negro and Las Fantas under my tree in USA. :)

I took the last bus to Madrid on Wednesday, the 15th of December. I took a taxi to my hostel for the night.  The taxi driver also asked me what weighed so much in my bag; I got the same response from him as I did the airport worker: laughing. We talked (in Spanish!) the whole time during the 37 euro taxi ride... I think I'll just stop at that. 37 euro: Taken!

The next morning, I took the hostel shuttle to the airport. (The driver told me I spoke good Spanish for an American!) I took it a little earlier than necessary to ensure I would have enough time with security, getting to the gate, etc. I wasn't missing this flight home! Well, the precautions were unnecessary, as my flight was delayed 2 hours. We waited on the runway for 1 hour - I fell asleep before we even took off. The movies didn't work on the flight either, making it the worst international flight yet (maybe worst flight of all time) since I had nothing to do but sleep, eat, or sit there and stare at people (judge but not judge!). Eight and a half hours of this = borinnnggg.

After arriving home, I was greeted in St. Louis by my mom, who had been "riding around St. Louis with her friend Deb". Lie. We arrived at my aunt and uncle's house to surprise them. Here is how it went: My mom went to the door. Aunt Lisa opened it and let her in and LOCKED the door behind her - as I was just walking up to the porch. I had to knock at the door. Aunt Lisa opened the door just a crack to see who it was and didn't recognize me at first! Then she said "Oh my gosh! What are you doing here? We just spoke yesterday and you are in Spain!" Uncle Cliff said he thought, "Wow, that looks like Whitney! Wait, it is Whitney!" So surprise 1 was a success. We went out for dinner - tapas none the less - what a welcome home meal! haha

The next morning, we drove to Jefferson City to surprise my grandparents. We went to their house. Mom went in first and about three minutes later I went in. Grandma was expecting my grandpa but was anxious when she heard the door. When she saw me, she threw her hands in the air and started crying! It was such a cool moment! The surprise was pulled off! Grandpa came in about 15 minutes later and found the three of us (Mom, Grandma, and me) in the living room. I had sat in the chair farthest away from him so he couldn't see me too well. When he came in the room, he didn't see me for a few minutes... then he saw a person and said, "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there! How are you?" (I think he thought I was Deb - "who went with my mom to St. Louis.")  Then I got out of the chair and said "Hi Grandpa!" and then he simply responded with "Well, what are you doing here?" So, while he was unemotional at first, grandma said it really hit him later that I was home for Christmas!

The next topic at hand was: THE PACKAGE. My grandparents really wanted to mail me "Christmas" so I had a gift to open in Spain on Christmas. However, my mom, knowing that I was going to be in Missouri for Christmas, really tried talking them out of it. However, she was unsuccessful - but not stupid! She told them to get the package together but that she would send it - aka not send it but make them think she had! Well, that's what she did. She even took it to the post office to weigh it since she knew they would ask how much it weighted and how much it cost. Grandma asked me, "Oh my gosh, did you get your package before you came home?" And I said, "What!? A Package!" haha Then I told her I had already eaten some of the cookies in the car and the rest of it was under the tree nice and wrapped: In Missouri! She later confessed that this was the last test to see if I was really staying in Spain for Christmas. When mom told her the weight and cost of the package she said she and grandpa lost hope that I was coming home. Surprise!!!!

Opening the package on Christmas Eve in USA!

I really enjoyed my time at home, with the warmth of my family, friends, and my house. It has never been nicer to be home. There really is no place like home for the holidays. Some say I really enjoyed my time because I was "just visiting" - which could be, but, it was just really nice to be there with my family. I was able to eat all my favorite foods, go to my favorite restaurants, play games with my family, watch DVDs - not online movies!, drive my car and listen to the radio, go somewhere whenever I wanted, no walking in the cold, sitting in my house in a t-shirt and not being cold, dinner with friends, catch up with friends from high school, visit Helias (my old high school!), road trip to St. Louis to spend time with my aunt and uncle and to visit friends, and spend New Years (out in Jefferson City!) with a good friend, Heather. It was a wonderful three weeks.

Recap of Christmas Events:

On December 24^th, we went to my grandparent’s house to celebrate Christmas Eve. We had a big dinner with prime rib, potatoes, deviled eggs, jello, and salad. After dinner, we opened presents.  I got lots of nice gifts...to name a few: socks, sweaters, a “snuggie”, Eat Pray Love, Letters to Juliet, an awesome collage that my mom made me (that only took three years to finish!), money for traveling, and other nice fantastic things. The theme of this year's Christmas was: keep Whitney warm and fed. With that being said, I also brought back wonderful homemade treats (cookies, cake, bread) for an extended Christmas here in Navalmoral. After we opened presents, we watched a movie and played games. It was a wonderful evening with my family!

A collage with all my favorite things! Thanks mom!

A wonderful Christmas dinner!

Decemeber 25^th, we went to church and then had brunch at my house with my mom's family. After, we headed to my Aunt Lesa and Uncle Chris's house for lunch. We had yummy appetizers - including hot wings that I had been CRAVING! I went driving with my (little - jr in high school) cousin MaKayla for the first time and was "invited" to hang with her friends. I knew my English had taken a hit when I responded to the following sentence "Sarah and Mark are going out...." with "Oh, where are they going?" Well, MaKayla told me straight and I felt like an idiota! Later that night, we went back to my grandparent’s house and we baked cookies and cake-pops. It was very fun cooking with my aunt, mom, and grandma! I've been enjoying my homebaked goodies all week - and with the rest of the freezer, I'm sure to enjoy them for weeks (months!) to come!

"Baker" Whitney? Not so much.

Cake Pops! If you've tried them, you know how delicious they are!

December 26^th, mom and I woke up very early and went shopping. I was happy to buy goodies for all my friends back in Spain! Thank goodness for sales... well, it wasn't much of a sale since I paid overweight baggage fees... but completely worth it with the feeling I got when sharing the gifts with them! Seriously, if I didn't love my amigos so much, I could have brought a few more bags of EasyMac, Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing, and American Mayo.

Feliz Navidad.

A peek into one of my three bags!

One thing to mention about New Years Eve... I had a fun time at Bones, out on the town in wonderful Jefferson City with my friend Heather.  On the ride home, we took a taxi - my first taxi EVER in Jefferson City (actually, the first time I'd ever taken a taxi in a town that I knew well). Of course, he totally took us on the "scenic" route throughout Jeff City - aka, taking our money.  Be proud: I yelled at him and said "Excuse me, I think you just missed your turn... I'm from here - so you better take us directly there. Oh, and I refuse to pay the total cost of the ride." So, note to self, NO taxi driver, however "nice" he or she may seem to be, is NOT to be trusted. I just wonder how many circles they drive me in when they find out Spanish isn't my native language. hmmmm

Ok, back to the trip: The return to Spain.
I left on January 8th from St. Louis and arrived in Spain on January 9th at 9:00am. I brought back three suitcases of new warm clothes, shrunken jeans, American gifts for my friends, and lots of American food for myself. I don't know how I managed to keep track of all these things myself - but I did. My luggages came back to back on the luggage carousel and I loaded them onto a cart along with my carry-on and my backpack. I made it to my shuttle: AeroCity (really good if you ever come to Madrid and need to get to the city center for cheap!) and then to Mendez Alvaro where I got the bus at 11:30am to go to Navalmoral. At Mendez Alvaro I got another cart, this time, it had a super tall thing on the side so you wouldn't steal it - so I know everyone saw me coming and probably laughed. Oh well, I made it finally to my bus and then to Navalmoral. I thought I would take one of the taxis (that are always waiting outside the bus/train station) but there were none when I arrived. So, I started out on foot with my bags (approx 140pounds total) to go the 15 minute walk. On the first street alone I stopped 5 times. I couldn't go very far without stopping. Oh, and the best part, it was raining. What a welcome back! So, I continued, in the rain to go to my house - I think it must have taken me at least an hour to lug my bags all the way home. I stopped another 5 times on my street which isn't very long. I now have come to hate upward sloping sidewalks and stairs (which I have three flights of in my apartment building.) Once I finally got everything in the house, I went to sleep and didn't wake up until the next morning. I unpacked a bit and started to get things back into place, as the high school had given me the day off to rest up.

This semester I have taken on more hours of classes at night. Which is good for the money but bad for my free time. I now have little to no free time; the free time I do have, all I want to do is sleep.  This semester my schedule is as follows: Everyday, work in Jarandilla until 2:30pm. Return home and start work at Liverpool English Academy at 4:20 every day. Monday and Wednesday I finish at 6:30pm and Tuesday and Thursday at 7:45. Monday I have a private conversation class at 7:00pm and Tuesday i have a private class at 8:00pm. It is long hours for Spain - but only a total of 26 hours a week - so nothing in comparison to the USA. However, with the Spanish hours of siesta and nothing open on Sunday - finding time to do things for myself (like doing laundry, going to the post office, and grocery shopping) is really hard! This first week back has been very stressful and tiring. I hope the next 5 months aren't so rough. I blame jet lag.

Whitney "the profe!" - in a 4th grade class!

When I came to Spain in September, I knew I was back to Europe as I sat by three large, bad smelling, non-English speaking, Greek men on the plane. This time, I knew I was on a European bound flight when breakfast was served. There were no Americans around me, only Spaniards. When breakfast was given out (an egg McMuffin that you would find a McDonald's, served on an English muffin and a banana) they all opened the English muffin bag and turned it in circles (probably) thinking, "Is this breakfast? What is this?" They set it back down and ate the banana. I ate the McMuffin and then the banana. Cultural tastes are very different. I got a good laugh out of it anyway. First song I heard this time around in the shuttle? My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion (I know you were wondering!)

I have been busy settling back in and feeling "at home" here in Navalmoral. I am still without heat, but surviving thanks to all my new warm clothes I received at Christmas. We have been talking about Christmas in USA vs. Spain in the high school. When they ask what my best gift was that I received, I say socks - the look on their faces is priceless. Because some say that was their worst gift. I beg to differ - when you don't have heat, socks are a wonderful (and necessary) gift. I will be talking about American sports this week in the primary school, high school stereotypes with a class at the private academy (showing them pictures of Helias cheerleaders, football games, passing around a baseball, etc.) It should be a fun week! I have all my materials prepared so hopefully this means some down time during the week at night.

We had an "invisible friend" gift exchange. (Secret Santa for my American friends.) Well, it was interesting. My gift came from Dioni and it was a Micky Mouse notebook! Not sure what I will do with it, maybe use it to keep myself organized. Time will tell. All the gifts were very unique, as some included a microphone, a slinky, fingernail polish, a sheriff hat, a fake mustache, a headband, a photo frame (with picture), panties, and a purse hanger! If you can see, there was a gift price limit of 2 EURO! Yes, this means we all made trips to the Chino store to buy our wonderful gifts! It was a fun night, back with our friends in Navalmoral; a wonderful welcome back to Spain.

Secret Santa gifts in La Tinaja!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, time to enjoy the warmth of family...ok, and the fireplace! There really is no place like home for the holidays. Thanks to all my friends and family who welcomed me home and continue to support me and my adventures!

PS! I've just found out that the primary school has invited me to go to Greece with them April 5 - 11! They want to thank me for my hard work with the Comenius a few months back and my continued efforts this semester! I am very excited to have this opportunity! When I learn more, I will let you know!

Pictures from Christmas in the USA! 

Reunited for Christmas! <3

Black tongues only mean one thing: Black Vodka!
(grandpa) didn't want people to know he'd been drinking....

Out with old friends! Kasie, Me, Theresa, Kristi

Happy 2011!!!!!

It's only been a week and I miss driving my car and listening to the radio.
(Amongst all the other American commodities!)